Category: Europe

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant religion. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 theses, which criticized the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, the new religion broke away from the high church in Rome.

Luther nailed his list of criticismon the door of achurch inWittenberg, where hetaughttheology. He attacked the Church because it claimed that a sinner could reduce God’s punishment by giving money to the church. He also claimed that popes were too powerful and abused their power.

A few years later Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. However, because of the printing press, which was invented at that time, his messagespread across most of Europe. The Reformationcaused widespread change in Europe. It led to wars and people leaving their home country in pursuit of religious freedom.

In England, Henry VIII broke his ties with the Roman Catholic Church and, based on Luther’s theses, founded the Anglican Church. Over the centuries Protestants have created many different branches of their religion. Many Protestants are found in Scandinavia, Germany and the United States.

About 800 million Protestants live in the world today. Even though there are still many disagreements between Protestantism and Catholicism, both churches have overcome their differences. Their relationship has improved since the 16th century.

The anniversary was celebrated throughout the Protestant world. Most ceremonies took place in Germany, the cradle of Protestantism.

Martin Luther

Words

abuse = to use something in the wrong way

anniversary = date on which something important happened in the past

attack = to criticise something in a strong way

based on = here: to create a new church out of Protestant ideas

cause = lead to

century = a hundred years

ceremony = important event that is performed in a traditional way

claim = to say that something is true

cradle = here: where everything began

disagreement = when two or more people do not have the same opinion

even though = while, although

excommunicate = to punish someone by no longer allowing them to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church

The world’s wine production in 2017 is expected to be at its lowest since 1961. Grape harvests, especially in the major Europeanwine-producing countries, Spain, France and Italy , are low. Thanks to surplus production in the last few years there is enough wine available and there will be no shortages for consumers. However, wine experts say this could lead to an overall rise in wine prices.

Global wine production is expected to drop by 8% to 246 million hectoliters, which would be the lowest overall production since 1961. Italy and France have reported that their grape harvest will go down by 20 % each in 2017. Spanish production is expected to drop by 15 %. Nevertheless, the quality of the grapes is expected to be very good.

Countries that have had normal or larger grape harvests, like Australia, Argentina and South Africa will profit from the low European production and be able to sell bring more of their wine on world markets.

The United States, the world’s fourth largest wine producer, has witnessed wildfires in California, the country’s number one wine-growing state. But they have not done any significantdamage because the crops had already been harvested.

There are two main reasons for the poor harvest in Europe. Cold temperatures and frost in early spring damaged many vineyards. Dry summers and long heat waves have also lead to a drop in harvest figures. In some areas the decline in production means that small wine-producing families are facing financial problems and sometimes even bankruptcy.

Vineyard in France

Words

available = something that can be bought

bankruptcy = if you are not able to pay the money that you owe to others

Estonia is a small Baltic state with a population of 1.3 million. Despite its size it is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and has been creating a digital society since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In Estonia, citizens are allowed to do most things online. Every inhabitant has a uniqueID card that they use for a number of purposes.They can file tax returns, get medical prescriptions and manage their health records online. They can pay for a parking ticket via mobile phone and don’t have to go to a registration office when a child is born. Parents can check their children’s grades and communicate with teachers. For many years Estonians have been able to vote online.

In 2014 the small Baltic country started a new digital initiative. It allows non-citizens to become digital residents for 100 euros. The government wants to bring qualified people to the country because the working population is steadily decreasing. The country desperately needs new programmers, web developers and media experts. Up to now 20 000 people from other countries have applied for digital citizenship.

Many countries, among them Finland and Japan are trying to copy Estonia’s digital society. However, authoritiespoint out that the country’s smallness is an advantage. Such a system may not work very well in larger countries with millions of people.

Digital Summit in Estonia – Image: Anna Piperal

Words

advanced = very modern

advantage = here: something that helps you to be successful

apply = to make a request

authorities = the people who are in charge of a government organisation or department

Baltic = region in the northeastern part of Europe

citizen = person who lives in a country and has rights there

collapse = breakdown , end

create = make

decrease = go down

desperately = very much

despite = even though

file tax returns = here: to send information on how much you have earned to the local government; it then tells you how much tax you have to pay

government = the people who rule a country

health records = information about your health

however = but

ID card = small plastic card that has information about a person

inhabitant = a person who lives in a country

initiative = a new plan

point out = to show something that is important

population = the number of people living in a country

prescription = a piece of paper on which the doctor writes down what medicine a sick person should take

purpose = what something is needed for

qualified = with special skills and talents

registration office = place where you have report to when a baby is born or someone dies

resident = a person who officially lives in a country

society = people in general and the way they live and work together

size =how large the country is

smallness = not large in size

Soviet Union = largest Communist country that existed between 1922 and 1991

Researchers have found that 3 million dollars worth of gold lands in Switzerland’s sewage system every year. After taking a close look at Swiss waste-water treatment plants, they claim that over a hundred pounds of gold and 6,000 pounds of silver are washed away with waste. However, it would be too expensive to remove the gold from the wasted water.

Switzerland is a country that processes and refines gold on a large scale. About 70% of the world’s most precious metal passes through Switzerland in some way or other. Gold is used especially in the country’s watchmaking industry, which dominates the world market.

Other valuable metals pass through the country’ sewage system, but they do not pose an environmental threat.

Most of the refineries lie in the southern canton Ticino, only a short distance from the Italian border.

Swiss watch – Image: Joe Haupt

Words

border = line between two countries

canton = province of Switzerland

claim = to say that something is true

dominate = to be number one

environmental threat = danger to the world around us

especially = above all

pose = cause a problem

precious = very valuable

on a large scale = here: large factories refine large amounts

refine = here: to make gold purer

remove = take something away

researcher = person who studies a subject in order to find out more about it

sewage system = a place where waste water from households is collected; the water is cleaned and returned into rivers or the sea

valuable = expensive

waste-water treatment plants = place where waste water from households is cleaned from unusable material

Over 2 million people voted in Sunday’s referendum on whether Catalonia should become an independent state. The government of the province has claimed that over 90% were in favour of breaking away from Spain. Before the referendum took place , Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that the vote was unconstitutional.

The Spanish government in Madrid sent thousand s of policemen and other security officers to Catalonia to stop people from voting. Police in Barcelona and other towns fired rubber bullets at protesters and tried to stop people from going to schools and other public buildings used as voting stations. Hundreds of people were injured, many of them seriously.

About 7 million people live in Spain’s northeastern province. Catalonia has its own language and culture. In the past decades it has received more and more autonomy. However, Catalonian separatists still want independence and their own country. They say that the region is a rich part of Spain and keeps pouring money into poorer parts of the country. Catalonia is highly industrialised and represents about a fifth of Spain’s GDP.

The European Union fears that Catalonia may declare independence on its own and trigger a political crisis on the Iberian peninsula. This may lead to the rise of other nationalist movements, for example in Scotland or Belgium.

Scientists have discovered that one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes , Campi Flegrei, a huge caldera near Naples may erupt soon. Geologists have found evidence that magma may be building up inside the volcano, which could blow up soon.

The supervolcano is only a few miles west of Naples, Italy’s third largest city. To the east lies Mount Vesuvius, the famous volcano that destroyedPompeii and Herculaneum in a massiveeruption in 79 A.D.

The last eruption of Campi Flegrei happened in 1538 after a series of earthquakeshit the area. A catastrophic outburst, however, occurred39,000 years ago when an eruption formed today’s caldera and sent 48 cubic miles of ash and magma into the atmosphere. Geologists fear that a similar eruption could be catastrophic for the 2 million people who live in Naples and the towns around it.

In the last few decades scientists have discovered a hotspot, a zone of magma, that lies about 4 km under the town of Pozzuoli , a few miles away from the supervolcano. They think that this zone of magma has been in motion in the past years but cannot locate in which direction. At the beginning of the 1980s, the surface of the caldera rose by 2 metres but sank again shortly afterwards. This may be a sign of building pressure inside the volcano.

While geologists cannot predict when a major eruption will take place, they are sure that there is activity going on inside Campi Flegrei.

Caldera at Campi Flegrei – Image : Donar Reiskoffer

Words

activity = here: magma that is moving

ash = soft grey powder that comes from an eruption

atmosphere = the mixture of gases that is around the Earth

caldera = a large crater at the top of a volcano; in some cases it is filled with water

cubic mile = one mile high, long and wide

decade = ten years

destroy = to damage something completely so that it no longer exists

discover = to find out something for the first time

earthquake = a sudden shaking of the Earth’s surface that often causes a lot of damage and may kill people

erupt = break out

evidence = facts that show something is true

geologist = a person who studies rocks that make up the Earth and the way they have formed

The next Olympic Games have been awarded to Paris and Los Angeles. Both cities will host the games for the third time. 2024 will mark the 100th anniversary of the second Paris Olympics. The city had already organised the summer games of 1900. The 2028 Olympics will be held in Los Angeles for the third time, after 1932 and 1984. It is the first time that the International Olympic Committee has named host cities for two summer games at once. Los Angeles originally wanted the 2024 games but agreed to hosting them 4 years later.

The IOC presented the new hosts at a time when the organisation is troubled by corruption and accusations that some members took bribes to vote for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics are expected to provide jobs and growth to the city. According to city officials, the games will generate 11 billion dollars in income and create jobs for 250 000 people in the next seven years. Although Paris already has many venues ready for the games, several new ones will be built. The city wants to attract visitors not only with the best sports stadiums but also with its unique cultural and historical sites.

Los Angeles organizers have also said they want to use many existing structures built in the 1980s in order to make the games as cost-efficient as possible.

After recent terrorist attacks in Paris, London, Barcelona and other major cities , security is expected to be the main factor for both events.

Today, not very many cities are keen on organising major sports events. On one side bidding costs millions of dollars and on the other side holding the games themselves costs local authorities and governments billions.

Olympic Torch Tower at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles

Words

according to = as said by …

accusation = statement that says someone has done something wrong or against the law

agree = to say yes to something

although = while

award = give to someone

anniversary = date or year in which something important took place

bidding = here: to offer to organize an event

bribe = to give someone money illegally and you expect them to do something for you in return

cost-efficient = here: to save money by using buildings or infrastructure that already exist

generate = produce , create

growth = businesses and the economy grow in a certain region

host = here: city that holds a special event

income = the money you get for the work you do

keen on = happy to do something

local authorities = here: the people who are in charge of ruling a town or city

According to a new report, diesel cars have caused thousands of premature deaths in Europe in the past few years. These deaths could have been avoided if countries had met anti-pollution standards. The recently published paper comes almost two years after the Volkswagen scandal, in which the German car maker was caught cheating on emission tests.

Europe is a continent with about a hundred million diesel-driven vehicles, almost twice as many as in all the other countries of the world combined. Years ago governments and car makers encouraged consumers to buy diesel cars because they were cheaper, used less fuel and produced less carbon dioxide. Many governments also offered tax reductions if people bought diesel cars. What has not been known until now is that diesel cars produce more nitrogen oxides, which may cause lung diseases.

Italy, Germany and France were the countries that recorded the most premature deaths from diesel-polluted vehicles. Especially diesel trucks that drive in denselypopulated areas contribute to the high level of pollution.

The Volkswagen scandal also shown that emission tests are not accurate and that in some cases diesel vehicles emit up to 4 times more substances than they do when tested in a lab.

Since the scandal broke , governments in Europe and elsewhere have been trying to get people to buy more petrol-driven cars. They have become more efficient than diesel vehicles and the difference in prices are not not as high any more.

Diesel powered car – Image by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz

Words

according to = as said by …

accurate = detailed; exact

anti-pollution standards = laws that are made to keep pollution levels in a country low

avoid = stop ; not happen

carbon dioxide = gas that is produced when animal or people breathe out or when carbon is burned in the air

cheat = here: to trick people and not tell them the truth

combined = together

contribute = to help make something happen

densely populated = when many people live in a small area

efficient = if something works well

emission test = testing how much gas or dirty substances are sent into the air

emit = send into the atmosphere

encourage = to say that people should do something

especially = above all

fuel = liquid used to produce energy and make a car drive

government = the people who rule a country

nitrogen oxide = combination of nitrogen and oxygen

paper = report

petrol-driven = run with normal petrol, not diesel

premature = something that happens before the natural time

record = write down information

substance = material

tax reduction = to pay less tax than you normally would

vehicle = machine with an engine that is used to transport people or products

For the first time England’s Prince Harry has talked about how he struggledemotionally after the death of his mother , Lady Diana, in September 1997. The 32 year old prince said that the the past few years of his life had been disturbing until finally his brother, William, urged him see a counselor.

Harry told journalists that it took him almost two decades to finally get over the tragic event. When Princess Diana died in a car accident, Harry was 12 years old.

He said that counselling helped him a lot because it is always good to open yourself up to a complete stranger. Apart from getting professional help, Harry started boxing to help overcome his grief.

In his late 20s Harry said that he had felt angry and left alone . He almost suffered a nervous breakdown as well. He said he had been dealing with the situation by not thinking about his mother and sticking his head into the sand.

Together with Prince William and his sister-in-law, Kate, Harry started the Heads Togethercampaign , a charity that helps people who have psychological problems.

Prince Harry – Image: Staff Sgt. Andrew Lee

Words

apart from = besides, also

campaign = movement ; events about a certain topic

charity = organization that gives money or goods to people who are poor or need help

The world’s longest railway tunnel, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, was opened after many years of construction. Trains can travel at speeds of up to 250 km an hour through the 57 km long tunnel. It took 17 years to complete and cost $12 billion. The engineeringmilestone will bring southern Germany and northern Italy closer together.

The new Gotthard Base Tunnel is also the world’s deepest tunnel, located 2300 metres below Swiss mountain peaks. A total of 2600 workers involved in building the tunnel had to excavate more than 28 million tonnes of rock.

Gottardinoshuttle trains will be running between the two endpoints of the tunnel and make a stop at Sedrun, a mountain station in the middle. 65 passenger and 240 freight trains are expected to travel through the tunnel every day. The Gotthard Base Tunnel will reduce the time it takes trains to pass through the Alps. A journey from Zurich to Milan, for example, will be reduced by an hour.

The new tunnel is part of a larger European transportation project that includes two other tunnels in the Alps. Ultimately, the EU plans a high-speed rail connection between its two majorharbours, Rotterdam and Genoa.

During the course of history the Alps have been a natural barrier to travel. In the past traders and merchants had to use mountain passes to travel from north to south. The first Gotthard rail tunnel opened in 1882, but as time went on it could not handle the growing traffic.

In the 1990s, Swiss citizens approved of a government plan to build a new tunnel. How hard such a construction feat would be soon became obvious . In places where there was hard rock boring was extremely slow. Workers could only advance only about half a metre every day.

The new tunnel is expected to reduce road traffic crossing the Alps as more and more lorries and cargo companies will put their freight on Swiss trains.

Inside the Gotthard Base Tunnel – Image : Hannes Ortlieb

Words

advance = move forward

approve = to agree with something or to say yes to a plan

barrier = a mountain, lake or any other natural object that stops people from going somewhere